1980: My Top Ten Favorite Movies By Year

2022   8   8.8 

Sure, there are sci-fi films better written, or with, now much more grander & updated special effects. But other than Star Trek, none have the expansive imagination or have been able to touch the heart of an entire generation of nerds, particularly with such a long lasting impact, as the original Star Wars trilogy.
And while I know that Star Trek has affected more numbers of sci-fi geeks, but, for me, as "big" as their stories & concepts were, they never seemed to go all out with their depictions of aliens races as much as Wars. And as integalactic as they tried to make their stories, I never felt that they were as epic.
For the movie of Empire itself, I agree with the rest of the world that this is the pinnacle of the entire Star Wars franchise, with it's darker tone & cliff-hanger ending within it's still fairytale-like structure. The saga of the intergalactic war between the Empire & the Jedi-led Rebellion hits it stride as Luke Skywalker, Hans Solo, Princess Leia & the rest of the crew find themselves pursued & cornered by Darth Vader & the forces of the Dark Side.



The Empire Strikes Back came out at a time back when movies would stay in wide release, not for weeks at a time, but for months, and a few of 'em, like this one, for almost a full year.
From my own point of view, I think that, on the majority, audiences today have been so desensitized from so-so blockbusters being released every other week-end or so, that they will never get to fully understand or experience the feeling a big movie-event like Star Wars. The year of Empire was one of my fave summers ever as a kid. It was really cool knowing that I could hop on the city bus at any point during the season & go watch TESB. And every time that I did, the other audience members were just as excited to be seeing this film at the end of the summer as they were at the beginning. Every year that one of the 3 original films was released, you could feel the power of the "Force" within the air, and not just until the next "big" movie came out. You could actually feel it in the air for almost the entire year long. And then some.

The Mighty Celestial's rating:

1747   8.2   8.5 

First of all, I'm always partial to Stanley Kubrick. IMO, he tends to make movies that are an inch away from being abstract beyond understanding, but keeps the flow of the film reeled in just enough to make seem like it makes sense on some kind of creative level. Add in the grounding of a Stephen King story & a role taylor made for Jack Nicholson, & what you have is one of my top favorite horror movies of all time. And with very little slashing, gore, or shock that most films of this genre (especially today) tend to rely on in order to frighten their audiences. The horror stems more from Jack's delivery & facial expressions as his character, writer Jack Torrance, gradually slips into the madness of a haunted hotel's dark intentions.
The phrase "Here's Johnny!" wouldn't be a very scary line at all if it weren't for Jack's maniacal mug peering thru the door's craggled "peephole", freshly smashed thru by the axe-wielding author who suffers from writer's block & a possesed spirit, not to mention from a severe case of "redrum" on his mind.

The Mighty Celestial's rating:

94   7.5   7.8 

A family portrayal that depicts how even the most ordinary people are not very ordinary.
And that trying to live a life of normalcy can often be much more of an emotional household hindrance than it is as a sign of achievement of the American dream.



Before I ever saw this movie,
I thought that Mary Tyler Moore was the most beautiful, heart-warming human beings ever to be onscreen.
After I watched Ordinary People,
I couldn't stand to even look at her.
Now that's acting.

The Mighty Celestial's rating:

551   8.1   8.4 

Okay, seriously...



... do I really need to explain this one?

The Mighty Celestial's rating:

430   6.2   6.7 

Okay, after his intro in the first movie, Supes finally gets to take the kid gloves off, kick some real @ss & take names. The three rogue Kryptonians have landed, to reveal to the Last Son of Krypton that he's not exactly the last son of Krypton.
And even though Supe-2 isn't as good as the first one, it's still pretty soild for a sequel, especially back when good sequels were rarer than last sons of Krypton. And even more especially for a comicbook nerd such as myself (this fact, along with that I'm also a sci-fi geek when it comes to movies, will explain the rankings of certain titles as I get closer to #1).
Even the infamous out-of-left-field "wtf" moment when Supes pulls off a big plastic-wrap S insignia off his chest during the climatic battle is negated by the dynamic quality & the strength of the Lois Lane/Clark Kent romance subplot.
A subplot whereupon the mighty Kal-El must learn that with great power comes not only great responsibility, but also, great sacrifice too.

The Mighty Celestial's rating:

590   7.1   7.8 

Before Epic Movie, Scary Movie, Superhero Movie or Dance Movie, there was this movie. The original gangsta of the "modern" take off movie.
Or to put it another way,
this is a movie about another movie but done as a spoof movie. And since I've used it nine times, here's the word "movie" just one more time, to make it an even ten.

742   7.4   7.9 

They're on a mission from God.
My favorite spiritual film of all time.

656   8   8.4 

No, this movie is not about a guy who gets elephantine-like powers after he gets bitten by a radioactive elephant.
It's a movie directed by David Lynch, his first major film after Eraserhead (no, it's not about a guy who gets bitten by a radioactive eraser). Told in a more straight-forward manner than his debut film, but with the same black & white palette that adds an eeriness to the "based on a true story" life of Joseph Merrick,
a man so afflicted with a physical deformity, that, after being pursued by a group of on-lookers who have boiled over into an angry mob, he finds himself anguishly reminding them that, despite his bestial physical imperfections, he is not an animal, but a human being.

The Mighty Celestial's rating:

11   6.3   6.7 

Just cuz it's cool to see high school bullies get their just desserts.

Not that I was ever bullied when I was in high school.
No, I was wunna the cool kids.

No, seriously.

I was.

162   6.4   6.8 

There are a couple of reasons why I like this movie so much.
And they both have to do with Adrienne Barbeau.

The Mighty Celestial's rating: